Exam 2: Studying Behaviour Scientifically

According to the results of the study done by John Darley and Bibb Latané, if you are robbed at gunpoint while walking home from the grocery store, your best chance of receiving help from witnesses would be when

Zhuang is trying to decide which major he should choose in college. His older brother notes that Zhuang is always asking questions, so maybe he should become a scientist. If Zhuang asks the same kinds of questions that successful scientists ask, he is probably asking things like

Professor Smith has developed a theory that is rather straightforward compared to the complex theory of Professor Jones. Both theories generate a number of new hypotheses from other researchers. Even though both theories predict the same phenomena well, the preferred theory is ________.

Dr. Little has heard that people tend to become more politically conservative as they get older. She decides to conduct a study to see if this is true. She conducts a telephone survey where she asks participants their age and political affiliation. She then uses statistics to see whether there is a relationship between these two variables. Which of the following research designs best describes Dr. Little's research?

If you are a participant in an experimental study, the procedure that insures that you have an equal chance of being in any group or condition within the experiment is called

What is the correlation coefficient and what does it assess? In your answer, be sure to address the following points: 1) the range of possible values the correlation coefficient can have, 2) the difference between a positive and negative correlation, and 3) the difference between the strength and direction of the correlation coefficient.

One of the main differences between theories and hypotheses is that

What is internal validity and how is it related to confounding variables and experimenter expectancies? In your discussion, define each of these concepts. What is the difference between internal validity and external validity? Give a hypothetical example of: 1) a study with poor internal validity, and 2) a study with poor external validity.

The tendency to respond in a socially appropriate manner rather than according to how a person actually thinks, feels, or behaves is called the

Which of the following is a disadvantage of the case study research method?

A theory is best defined as

Explain the main goal of correlational research, and how this is achieved.

A researcher is designing a study and is debating the potential use of deception. After discussing the issue with her colleagues, it is decided that there really is no alternative methodology that she could use to test her idea. Having said this, all of her colleagues agree that the cost of using deception in her study would strongly outweigh any positive benefits that would be gained from the study. Given this information, which of the following statements is true?

Hailie is writing a psychology research paper. She has collected research from the past three decades, which her professor says is fine. What is confusing for Hailie is that her articles say different things. She finally asks you why all of the research has been published if some of it is wrong. You tell her that

After we have collected the data in an experiment we typically would analyze the results using inferential statistics. In this procedure we begin by testing

All other things being equal, a simpler theory is considered to be better than a more complex theory.

What are the justifications for, and criticisms of, research in which animals are harmed?

Random assignment is important in research because

Ramon is studying bullying behaviour among elementary schoolchildren. He arranges to spend one day following around a class of children, making notes on their behaviour. Unfortunately, when he presents his research to his professor, his professor says that Ramon's data were compromised by the way he collected it. What did Ramon forget to do?

In a study of aggression, Dr. Berkowitz had participants watch either violent or non-violent media after they had been frustrated by a colleague. They were then able to deliver electric shocks to the colleague as feedback for mistakes made on a memory test (this never really happened, they just thought they were giving shocks). Berkowitz recorded the intensity of shocks delivered. Results indicated that more intense shocks were given when participants watched the violent media. In this study, it is critical that we